DIY: Bling It Up

I recently had a big clean out of my wardrobe and I got to this old plain navy jumper I got aaaages ago when I used to work in New Look. I kind of had a vision because even though I haven’t worn the jumper in probably well over a year I didn’t want to get rid of it. My rule is usually, if unworn in the last 4 months then it has to go on ebay to a new home where it will be loved. I suddenly remembered some little sew on gems I bought from ebay and my love of embellishment took over.

If you follow my instagram then you would have already seen my little project before and after picture. I sat down and it took me roughly 4 hours from start to finish. I laid out the jumper flat and arranged all the gems into how I wanted them placed on the jumper. I then used fabric glue to stick every one into place to make it really easy for when it came to sewing. I then went back over row by row and stitched them firmly into place. After the jumper was completed I washed it to get rid of any small bits of glue that seeped out the side when sticking the gems on and it was ready to wear.

I can’t believe how much it transformed the jumper from an old, plain navy, run of the mill jumper into a cute, perfect for this time of year, blinged up jumper. Usually in a store something with this much embellishment would cost over the £30 mark. The jumper cost me about £8 and the gems cost about £4 for roughly 100 of each design of gem (so £4 for about 400 gems).

If you’ve been thinking about starting a little DIY project I would definitely recommend it. Not only does it save you money by shelling out for a new top, it also gives you a wardrobe piece that no one else has!

I wore my newly refurbished jumper with some mid wash skinny jeans and since it is a tad cooler I dug out my last season trainer wedges. When the evening cooled off a bit later on I added a striped cardigan with the same shade of blue as the jumper. The only jewellery I wore was my watch as the detail on the top plus an added necklace would have been blinged up road kill.

I also bought this jumper in a baby pink colour which I also don’t really wear anymore and seeing as pink is the colour of the season I am going to do the same with that one. I will instead use various shades of pink, clear and navy gems as I think that will make a nice combination.

Have you done any similar DIY projects? Tweet me (@gillianleerose) pictures of your creations and I will retweet my favourites.